How To Kill A Cockroach: First Log
by CuriousKat13
Summary: When mysterious attacks pop up around the city, everyone is at a loss at to who's behind them. Will a determined team of detectives manage to blow the whistle on more than one mystery? My first TMNT 2003 fic. ENJOY AND REVIEW, PLEASE?
1. Chapter 1

Ptwista: It has been a WHILE. And SO MANY things have changed. One of them being my new found love for TMNT 2003. This is my first time venturing into this territory of fanficdom and I hope I do the series some justice. My progress on this story will depend on feedback; if I don't know if it's crap or good I won't continue so please read and review, PLEASE?

Chapter 1

Mirrors; they were everywhere. They lined the walls and made the pillars of the room gleam. The room was shrouded in darkness but given a shade of deep blue to ease visibility. On a raised platform stood one mirror grander than the others. It's frame emblazed with her planet's emblem and a message.

"In Somnis"

A young girl was in front of the mirror. She hugs her knees and gazed in wonder at the fabulous images before her: Performing in front of a million fans, the admiring faces gleaming with pride, the breathtaking views of the world's landscape, a home cooked meal with her mother and father, her sister and she pillow fighting and laughing, her whole family sitting beneath their favorite tree having a picnic, having her first kiss in the moonlight beneath the shady maple tree.

While she stared in wonder and longing, a young woman had her back to her and the mirror. She faced a far off window and stood still as stone, her eyes closed and unflinching as the little girl's laughter and sighs of desire echoed throughout the room.

The New York night was growing old. The sky was still a darkened violet and not as much of a victim to light poisoning. People and cars were in fewer numbers on the streets, and the city was as close to quiet as it ever would be.

CRASH! CLANG! went a nearby pair of garbage cans. An innocent bystander had taken a wrong turn, and found himself at a gangster's mercy.

The man, still weak from the attack, drew himself farther back into an alley as the gangster rounded on him. The gangster withdrew a strange weapon from his blazer pocket. It sparked and crackled menacingly. The man whimpered and felt his consciousness slipping. The weapon made contact with his chest and his screaming echoed between the buildings' brick walls.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Suddenly, his screams were replaced by several thuds and grunts of pain. A shadowy figure had leapt from the roof and used a blunt staff to fend off the gangster. The man managed to get to a wall for support and pulled himself up as he watched his attacker and savoir battle. Soon, the gangster fled the scene as police sirens wailed in the distance. The man's savoir leaned him against the outer wall to await the police, and then fled as well.

"We got another one," said one officer.

"Jeez," said the other. A paramedic examined the man's chest wound. "This guy's the fourth case today. What kind of sicko does this to people?"

"I don't know," the officer helped the man onto the stretcher. "But we better find out soon." As he was wheeled into the Ambulance truck, the man caught a faint glimpse of a person on the rooftop. His savior, after making sure he was on his way to being treated, then completely vanished as the man finally lost consciousness.

"Careful with that one, Casey," said April, worriedly. "All my best China's in there."

"Hey, no problem, babe," Casey said with a strained voice and he plopped the box of China on the floor.

Leo and Raph came in behind Casey with another box labeled "Knickknacks".

"Where d'ya want this one?" Raph asked.

"In the den," April pointed.

Mikey entered the new apartment carrying an area rug. He gave an appreciative whistle.

"Sweet pad, you guys."

"It will be," said April, "after we spruce it up a bit."

Donnie brought in and soon became busy hooking up the TV.

"How'd you find this place anyway?" asked Raph exiting the future den.

"It was my parent's old place," April explained. "They decided to take their skills as doctors to Africa, and needed someone to take this place off their hands."

"I never knew your parents were doctors, April," said Donnie.

"Where do you think I got my interest in science?"

A knock echoed through the room and gave the turtles their cue to hide. April and Casey approached the door slowly and found their visitor was a young woman. She had medium brown skin, brown eyes and tight curled black hair tied back into a ponytail.

"Hey," she chimed, "You must be the new neighbors."

"Uh, yes," said April. "Hi," she reached out to shake the girl's hand, "I'm April Jones and this is my husband," she gestured to Casey, "Casey Jones."

"Nice meeting you, April, Casey," said the girl. "I'm Rebecca; my sister Beth and I just moved here too." She peered into the room, slightly. "You guys need any help movin' in?"

"NO!" April and Casey said in unison.

Rebecca was taken aback.

"Uh…that is," April stuttered, "We don't have that much stuff. We'll be fine on our own. Thanks."

"Oh…" said Rebecca. "Ok, then… If you guys need anything, me and my sis are right above you." She pointed up.

Rebecca then turned around to leave but stopped when a strong smell slammed into her nostrils.

"Ugh!" she cringed. "Geez, what died down here? Smells like low tide!" She fanned the air to no avail. "Or…sewage."

"If Raph's smell is that impressive, wait 'til she sees him and faints," Mikey whispered from his hiding place. Raph was not amused, and gave Mikey a prompt smack upside the head.

"OW!" he cried. Then covered his mouthed hurriedly after realizing what he did.

Rebecca turned back to peer more into the room. "What was that?"

"Uh…"

"Rats!" Casey spat out.

Rebecca hesitated. "Rats?" she asked.

April and Casey nodded.

Rebecca raised an eyebrow. "Rats that…say 'ow'?" She folded her arms.

"Um, you know what?" April said. "Maybe you CAN help!" She pushed Casey out into the hallway with Rebecca. "I have some old clothes in one of the moving boxes that I need somebody to take off my hands. Casey will show you where it is, OK?"

"Uh, OK," said Rebecca, "But—"

April slammed the door behind them both and sighed with relief.

"Talk about your nosy neighbors," Mikey said popping back into full view with his brothers.

"I don't know whether to like her or hate her," Raph said.

"Why?" said Don continuing on the TV.

"Well, on the one hand, she WAS stickin' her nose where it don't belong. On the other hand, she a'int stupid."

Rebecca grunted as Casey handed her the box.

"Got it?" he asked.

"Yep," she replied with a slight amount of strain in her voice. "Hey, um, Casey, right?"

"Yeah."

"You and your wife are hidin' something, aren't ya?"

Casey froze. Rebecca stared back at him.

"Maybe we are, maybe we're not," he replied.

"Right…" Rebecca said. "You know…I'm pretty good at keepin' secrets."

"Nothin' too interestin' to tell, toots."

Rebecca sneered at him.

"Ok, ok. Sorry if I was bein' a nosy neighbor. I guess it's just that…," they approached the elevator. "…I'm so used to seeing out-of-the-ordinary stuff. And with you two showin' a lot of the obvious signs of having a dirty little secret, it isn't TOO hard to get a LITTLE suspicious."

"You're not like other girls, are you?" Casey asked, suddenly getting suspicious himself.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," she said with a cheeky smile.

The elevator reached Rebecca's floor. "Well, this is me," she said. "I'll see you and the Missus around, ok?"

"Later, Rebecca," Casey waved as the elevator doors closed.

Ptwista: Ok, first chapter done. Seriously, don't be too brutal. It's my first time walking into this section of and some reviews and constructive criticism is encouraged. Flaming is not. :P


	2. Chapter 2

Ptwista: Ok, I'm breaking my own rule here because I gotta keep going while I still have my writers' steam. Chapter 2 comin' at ya!

"Last night was the latest in mysterious attacks," Channel 3 news reporter said in his usual monotone. "All of the victims have been reported being attacked in various locations throughout the city."

Raphael balanced a sai by its tip; Leo watched the news report with him intently.

"Many of the victims had to be rushed into intensive care and all of them have no memory of how or what had attacked them." The victims' pictures showed deep wounds like maroon-colored trenches across various parts of but all on the upper half of their bodies.

"Sounds like another gang war's startin' up," said Raph sheathing his sai.

"I don't know, Raph," said Leo. "This doesn't sound much like the Foot, the mobsters or even the Purple Dragons." The blue clad turtle stood to get a better look at the televised map of the attack locales. "The attacks have been too sporadic. And too individualized for innocents getting caught in a turf war." Leo cradled his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe the victims all have something in common?"

"Cross that theory off the list," said Don. He pulled up the ID photos of the 9 victims on his computer; Five males, four females, all of them had similar wounds around the torso. They all varied in age, financial background, appearance and location on the map.

"None of the victims have anything in common," said Don. "They were all wounded in similar ways, ugh," he recoiled momentarily, "but their attackers were quick and made sure to remain unseen."

"Sounds ninja-y to me," said Mikey. He propped himself on the table by Donnie's computer. "Sure it's not the Foot up to their old tricks again?"

"What would the Foot have to gain from these seemingly random attacks?" asked Don holding his chin in thought.

His computer beeped with an incoming call, causing Mikey to falling off the table in shock.

"Ahh!" Mikey squealed and he grunted as he hit the lair's floor.

"Donnie?" April was on-screen. "Have you guys seen the weird attacks happening on the news?"

"In all their gruesome glory," said Donnie still slightly disgusted by the wounded victims.

"Well, some of that 'gruesome glory's' happening right outside my building. It looks like the same attackers on TV."

"Well, what are we waitin' for?" said Raph. He unsheathed his sais. "Let's go pay these psychos a little visit."

Outside April's building, a new victim, a teenage boy, had been cornered. His attacker kicked him into a nearby dumpster causing him to cry out. The boy tried to regain his balance but the attacker grabbed him by the throat and began to strangle him.

"Please…" he begged breathlessly, "What do you want from me?"

Only a low hiss escaped his attacker's mouth and the boy gasped desperately for breath as the attacker tightened his grip. As they brought a pronged weapon near the victim's chest, and the victim screamed from the pain of an electric shock, the attacker was violently knocked aside. Casey Jones had broken from the building in a raging charge and the victim fell limp released from his attacker's grasp. He rubbed his throat trying to relieve the pain. Casey pinned the attacker to the ground and began to punch him in the face. Blow for blow, it didn't seem to faze the attacker; they threw Casey off with tremendous force and began to advance towards him with his pronged weapon.

"Casey!" April cried from the floor window.

Before the attacker made contact with the weapon a hooded figure leapt from a nearby fire escape and subdued the attacker with what looked like a pair of nunchakus. The attacker rounded on their new opponent and made brief contact with their weapon. The nunchaku wielder cried out in pain as the attacker hissed faintly.

"Hi-ya!" Leonardo cried, sending a flying kick to the attacker's ribs. The attacker fell to the ground again. Each of the turtles stood at the ready with their respective weapon. The attacker recognized this new threat as too much to handle and quickly disappeared.

"Hey!" Raph yelled after him. "Get back here, ya creep!"

The hooded figure had fallen to one knee and held their torso in pain. Donatello approached them slowly.

"Are you ok?" he asked. The figure gasped and sprang to their feet, beginning to back away. "I-It's alright; we don't want to fight you," he said still trying to gain their trust. Mikey noticed the nunchaku they dropped as they backed away.

"Hey, a fellow chucker?" he asked excitedly approaching them.

"Mikey, wait!" Donnie cried.

The hooded figure quickly pulled a small silver sphere from beneath their cloak. They threw it to the ground and flooded the street with a blinding light and a high-pitched whine.

The turtles yelled in shock and tried in vain to shield their eyes.

"Wahh! I can't see!" Mikey cried.

Once the flash died down, the hooded figure was gone. The turtles brought their hands down from their faces.

"Who…? Who _was_ that?" asked Don.

"Whoever it was," said Leonardo, "he left his calling card."

The "calling card" was a small flat disk, emblazoned with a symbol that looked like a calligraphic, lowercase 'm' in bold red print against a bright orange background.

Raph picked it up and arched an eyebrow. "'m'?" The turtles heard police and ambulance sirens approaching. Raph tucked the badge into his belt and the turtles and April helped Casey back into the apartment building.

The hooded figure watched them disappear into the apartment. They held their head in their hand in frustration and shook it while they muttered, "Oh, boy…Boss is not gonna be happy."


	3. Chapter 3

Ptwista: Chapter three, chapter three, what can I say? Chapter three.

The following morning was a balmy day. A sickening orange sky hung lazily above as the sun peaked over the city. The temperature outside had fell within mid-90s and shrouded April and Casey's street in a muggy haze. Their street section had been closed off by the familiar "do not cross" police safety tape. The beaten trash cans and dumpsters were left to suffer from the previous night's abuse. Two small rivers made their trails along the scene; one a boisterous red, the other a dirt clad gray. They came together to make the street section sparkle with scarlet tears.

A cat slipped under the "do not cross" line; a tuxedo cat with a bright white face, white paws, electric green eyes and grey-black fur. A tightly braided collar hugged its neck as its nametag jangled with each step it took. It wondered towards the middle, sat and meowed, somewhat forlorn, towards the scene it became a part of.

An olive-toned woman tore a section of the police line away and walked through. Her dark brown hair was tied in a neatly styled bun and she wore a pair of black rimmed glasses. She had on a light brown business jacket, a white button-down shirt and a black pencil skirt. Her black high heels clicked as she walked, surveying the area and jotting any important details on her notepad.

"What a mess," she muttered. "An absolute mess." The woman looked up from her notepad as she heard the nearby building door open.

April had tended to Casey the past night and took it upon herself to do one of Casey's chores: taking out the trash. She grunted in difficulty with the heavy load as the woman approached her.

"Do you need some help?" she asked, startling April.

"Oh!" she said breathlessly. "Yes…" she panted. "Thank you." April started to distribute an even part of the weight to her. "Be careful, it's really—"

The woman scooped the bag from April's arms and carried on her back with a surprising about of grace.

"—heavy."

They approached the dumpster behind the building; April opened its lid and the woman threw the bag in like a basketball.

As April closed the lid the woman inquired, "You wouldn't happen to be April Jones, would you?"

"Y-Yes, that's me," said April.

"I'm detective Elizabeth Torum," she said while showing her badge. She extended her hand to her redheaded neighbor. "My sister told me she had visited you the other day. The name Rebecca ring a bell?"

"Oh, so _you're _Beth?" April asked accepting her hand.

"Actually, I prefer Elizabeth or Miss Torum, if you don't mind."

"Oh, sorry," said April. "Well, it's nice to meet you Miss Torum."

The tuxedo cat purred and curled itself around April's feet.

Miss Torum chuckled and released April's hand. "And this is my cat, Gypsy."

April kneeled down to Gypsy's level. "Hello there, Gypsy," she cooed. Gypsy mewed and purred as April stroked her from head to tail. "She's beautiful," said April.

"Isn't she?" Miss Torum said with a small hint of pride. April didn't notice the smile that had crept onto Miss Torum's face and by the time Gypsy returned to her master's feet, it had already faded away.

"I'm glad I ran into you, April." Miss Torum and April walked up the building's stairs with Gypsy in tow. "After last night's attack, I wanted to make sure you and your husband were alright." Her voice echoed along the bleach white walls.

"I appreciate it, Miss Torum," said April. "Casey's still recovering but he'll be alright."

"April!" Miss Torum exclaimed. "Your husband didn't actually fight that monster?"

April held her head down, concentrating on her feet as they continued up the stairs. "Casey was hurt pretty badly defending the victim; he gave the kid enough time to escape—"

"—But not enough time to avoid those trench-like wounds on his torso." Miss Torum stopped short as April passed her.

April turned back to her. "Trench-like?"

Miss Torum continued up. "If the attacker last night had been left to his own devices, the victim's wounds would've been fatal. They made it to the same caliber as third-degree burns."

April shuddered as Miss Torum passed her. "Oh, my God."

Miss Torum stopped at the doorway to April's floor and turned to her. "April, is Casey in a well-enough condition to talk?"

April froze near the top and looked up to her but hesitated to respond.

"Rebecca and I have been on this case for weeks," Miss Torum explained. "Any detailed information about this recent attack could be beneficial to our investigation."

"I don't know, Miss Torum," said April. "Casey's still a little disoriented. He's actually been sleeping all day." April moved past the detective towards her room.

"I see," said the detective. Gypsy slipped past her feet and she followed her tail into the floor's hallway.

"Do you know if anyone else was nearby when the fight broke out?"

April felt her chest tighten slightly. "Um…," she tried to find the right words, "Well…"

Gypsy neared April's door and meowed loudly. She stood still as stone.

Her master briefly raised an eyebrow. "April," she began. "A lot of people are suffering because of this psychopath. Rebecca and I barely know anything about them but we need to quell this situation before it gets any worse."

Gypsy meowed again.

Miss Torum hesitated. "There may be _murders_ next."

April froze as a chill dove down her spine.

"If there _is_ any way you can help us, I know this city would appreciate it."

April's hand lingered on the doorknob as Miss Torum turned to leave.

She kissed twice towards her cat still focused on April's door. "Come, Gypsy." Gypsy's collar jingled as she turned to and sprang towards her master. "This city has enough problems, don't you think?" the detective said over her shoulder. April nodded.

Gypsy sashayed through the stairwell's door. "You know where to find me," said Miss Torum. The door slinked to its latch before finally closing with a soft click.

Ptwista: The plot thickens! lol, please REVIEW!


End file.
